You can’t imagine it, Jessie J states. At that moment readying for her first album release in eight years, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in March she was told she had breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, birth name J. Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an transparent story, tackling every moment of pain she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, losing a baby, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The first single, No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Then follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in May and Cornish was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while dealing with breast cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in the capital. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and big frames. Think rocker vibe meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Cornish is fast-thinking, unfiltered and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut next year. “I enjoy humor. On stage I basically roast the fans.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was planning an appearance at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then the singer had assured herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after years away and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have shown aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you roll down in a bed, but then I just marched with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened a few months back and my affected breast now appears as a odd shape.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”
Previous Struggles
She is familiar with health problems. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with physical challenges. Frequently they align with career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to highlight not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career performing in the stage in a musical (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward six years, and young Jessica has become part of the female band Soul Deep while studying at the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Wow, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
